1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to conveyor systems and more specifically to apparatuses and methods for transferring product from a press to an oven.
2. Description of Prior Art and Related Information
To mass produce food products which require flattening and heating, food assembly lines are often provided with a press and an oven. For example, flour tortillas are made from dough balls which are carried through a press. Since a press commonly consists of plates which compress against the food products on a conveyor belt, the conveyor of the press travels in an intermittent mode. This stop-and-go motion allows for plates of the press to come together to flatten the products when the belt is stationary, and then for the flattened products to be transported to the oven while a new batch of dough balls are carried in.
Conveyors in ovens, however, travel in a continuous fashion. Furthermore, continuous conveyors in ovens travel at a constant speed which is generally slower than the maximum speeds reached by intermittent conveyors. An intermittent press conveyor cannot be directly linked to a continuous oven conveyor without overloading food product onto the continuous oven conveyor. Therefore, a discharge system is generally required for transitioning food products from the intermittent conveyor of the press to the continuous conveyor of the oven.
A common discharge system includes a conveyor having both an intermittent and continuous mode of motion. The discharge conveyor travels in the intermittent mode when receiving a batch of product from the press, and then in the continuous mode when discharging the batch onto the oven conveyor. Since the discharge conveyor cannot switch back to the intermittent mode until the carried batch is entirely transitioned onto the oven conveyor, the discharge conveyor is thus precluded from receiving any new batch until the old batch is unloaded. This results in gaps along the oven conveyor, leading to suboptimal efficiency.
The prior art includes a discharge system with two conveyors. Each conveyor includes an infeed arm adapted to receive product from the press, and an outfeed arm adapted to discharge product onto the oven conveyor. Each infeed arm in the prior art system is independently pivotal, with the infeed end of each infeed arm traveling in its own arc. With each infeed arm traveling in its own arc, a greater degree of complexity is involved in configuring the system such that the arms are movable to the optimal position adjacent to the press conveyor for receiving product.
The prior art discharge system usually requires one infeed arm to be substantially longer than the other in order for it to reach the press conveyor. Even with such differing lengths, however, it is difficult for both the infeed arms to travel to the optimal position for receiving product, which position is generally a fraction of an inch in front and a fraction of an inch below the outfeed end of the press conveyor. Such misalignment results in various problems. The products may become deformed as while being transferred to infeed arms of the discharge system.
Furthermore, another major disadvantage with the prior art system lies in the complexity caused by the independent pivoting motion of each infeed arm. With each independently pivoting infeed arm traveling in its own arc, the prior art system requires a great degree of calculation in attempting to design both infeed arms to travel to the optimal receiving position. With the dimensions of the infeed arms being large while the optimal receiving position is precise, any slight miscalculation can lead to a defective system which may require expensive and time consuming adjustments.
The present invention provides structures and methods which overcome the deficiencies in the prior art.
As used herein, words such as xe2x80x9cfrontxe2x80x9d, xe2x80x9crearxe2x80x9d, xe2x80x9cinfeedxe2x80x9d and xe2x80x9coutfeedxe2x80x9d are used to describe directions referring to the direction in which a product travels, namely, from an intermittent conveyor to a continuous conveyor. Thus, the xe2x80x9cfrontxe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9coutfeedxe2x80x9d direction is toward the continuous conveyor and away from the intermittent conveyor. In contradistinction, xe2x80x9cinfeedxe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9crearxe2x80x9d refer to a direction toward the intermittent conveyor and away from the continuous conveyor.
In one aspect, a discharge conveyor system is provided for use in transitioning product from a first conveyor to a second conveyor having different modes of movement. The discharge conveyor system comprises a first infeed arm having a first input end and a second infeed arm having a second input end. The first input end and the second input end are movable along a substantially common arc. The first infeed arm comprises a first output end, and the second infeed arm comprises a second output end. The system further comprises a fulcrum to which the first infeed arm and second infeed arm are coupled, the first output end and the second output end being rotatable about the fulcrum.
The system further comprises a first arcuate guide disposed above the fulcrum and a second arcuate guide disposed below the fulcrum. The first infeed arm comprises a first follower configured to travel along the first arcuate guide. The second output arm comprises a second follower configured to travel along the second arcuate guide. The system further comprises a sidewall. The first arcuate guide comprises a first arcuate slot defined on the sidewall, and the second arcuate guide comprises a second arcuate slot defined on the sidewall. A lifting mechanism is coupled to the first input end and the second input end. The system further comprises a first output arm adjacent to the first infeed arm and a second output arm adjacent to the second infeed arm.
In another aspect, a food processing system is provided. The food processing system comprises a press with an intermittent conveyor, an oven with a continuous conveyor, and a discharge system disposed between the press and the oven. The discharge system comprises a first infeed arm with a first input end and a second infeed arm with a second input end. The first infeed arm is movable between a first near position adjacent to the intermittent conveyor and a first far position away from the intermittent conveyor. The second infeed arm is movable between a second near position adjacent to the intermittent conveyor and a second far position away from the intermittent conveyor. The first input end and the second input end are movable along a substantially common arc.
The discharge system further comprises a first outfeed arm disposed between the first infeed arm and the continuous conveyor, and a second outfeed arm disposed between the second infeed arm and the continuous conveyor. The first infeed arm comprises a first output end that is movable between a first forward position when the first infeed arm is in the first far position, and a first rearward position when the first infeed arm is in the first near position. The second infeed arm comprises a first output end that is movable between a second forward position when the second infeed arm is in the second far position and a second rearward position when the second infeed arm is in the second near position.
A method is provided for transporting food product from a press to an oven. The method comprises moving a first infeed end of a first infeed conveyor along an arc toward the press, receiving a first batch of food product from a press conveyor with a first infeed conveyor, moving the first infeed end along the arc away from the press, discharging the first batch of food product onto an oven conveyor, moving a second infeed end of a second infeed conveyor along the arc toward the press, receiving a second batch of food product from the press conveyor with a second infeed conveyor, moving the second infeed end along the arc away from the press, and discharging the second batch of food product onto the oven conveyor.
The step of receiving a first batch of food product from a press conveyor with a first infeed conveyor comprises the step of intermittently receiving the first batch of food product with the first infeed conveyor. The step of receiving a second batch of food product from a press conveyor with a second infeed conveyor comprises the step of intermittently receiving the second batch of food product with the second infeed conveyor. The step of discharging the first batch of food product onto an oven conveyor comprises the step of continuously discharging the first batch of food product onto the oven conveyor. The step of discharging the second batch of food product onto an oven conveyor comprises the step of continuously discharging the second batch of food product onto the oven conveyor. The step of moving a first infeed end of a first infeed conveyor along an arc toward the press may occur simultaneously with the step of moving the second infeed end along the arc away from the press. The step of moving a second infeed end of a second infeed conveyor,along the arc toward the press and the step of moving the first infeed end along the arc away from the press may also occur simultaneously. The step of discharging the first batch of food product onto an oven conveyor and the step of receiving a second batch of food product from the press conveyor with a second infeed conveyor may occur simultaneously.
A method is also provided for transporting product from an intermittent conveyor to a continuous conveyor. The method comprises providing a first conveyor with a first infeed arm and a first infeed end, providing a second conveyor with a second infeed arm and a second infeed end, rotating the first infeed end about a fulcrum to move the first infeed end toward and away from the intermittent conveyor, rotating the second infeed end about the fulcrum to move the first infeed end toward and away from the intermittent conveyor, intermittently receiving a first batch of product from the intermittent conveyor with the first conveyor, continuously discharging the first batch of product onto the continuous conveyor, intermittently receiving a second batch of product from the intermittent conveyor with the second conveyor, and continuously discharging the second batch of product onto the continuous conveyor.
The method further comprises the step of coupling the first infeed end to the second infeed end such that moving the first infeed end toward the intermittent conveyor moves the second infeed end away from the intermittent conveyor and moving the second infeed conveyor toward the intermittent conveyor moves the first infeed conveyor away from the conveyor.
In summary, a conveyor system for transitioning articles between an external intermittent conveyor and an external continuous conveyor system includes an upper conveyor and lower conveyor. Each conveyor includes an infeed arm movable toward and away from the intermittent conveyor. Each infeed arm defines an infeed end that is movable along a common arc and rotatable about a common pivot point. With the infeed ends traveling along a common arc, each infeed end is easily moved to the same optimal receiving position for receiving articles from the intermittent conveyor. Each conveyor may switch between a continuous mode, wherein articles are continuously discharged onto the continuous conveyor, and an intermittent mode, wherein articles are intermittently received from the intermittent conveyor.
The invention, now having been briefly summarized, may be better appreciated by the following detailed description.